


He loves his wife (she will cut you)

by FeigningMischief



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology, Original Work
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Healthy Relationships, Married Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-03 06:23:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16320842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeigningMischief/pseuds/FeigningMischief
Summary: My name was Kore and I brought the spring.





	1. My name was Kore and I brought the spring

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Guiding of Death](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14910729) by [RayShippouUchiha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RayShippouUchiha/pseuds/RayShippouUchiha). 



My name was Kore and I brought the spring.

I was young when we first met, but not as young as  _ They _ would have you believe. They still called me maiden then, but I was a woman, I knew what I was doing.

You know, it’s funny, I used to idolise them. They were so powerful, so  _ bright.  _ For a long time, I thought they could do no wrong. I clearly did not know them very well.

It wasn’t like I hadn’t had relationships before him; I had. Until Demeter found out about them. People will tell you that she was just trying to protect me. Ignore them. They don’t have a clue what they’re talking about. Demeter was not a mother to me and I was not a daughter to her. I was just an asset, something that she could assign to do the work she didn't feel like doing. She was never outright cruel to me, but she definitely did not love me.

I was a convenient tool for her usage, and for too long a time I remained blissfully ignorant of that.

I remember the first time I sensed something was amiss. It was when I began to court Apollo. He was sweet, patient, and he was so very proud of each beautiful sunrise and sunset. And I was proud of him for it. 

One day she caught me smiling at the sunset and frowned.

“Why do you smile?” she asked as if I was forbidden happiness; as if I did not have my own life; as if doing so required her permission.

The next morning, she made sure that I had missed the sunrise, I wonder if she was jealous of the gift that Apollo had given me. From that point on she made sure I was always inside when Apollo was painting the sky.

She kept me busy, she sent me to plant flowers and make them grow, the very next day she would send me to harvest them. The day after that she would send me to Hermes, to sell them.

That was her mistake because Hermes and I got along like a house on fire. I would arrive with my wears, and we would haggle over the price. We spent days on end arguing, and I enjoyed every second of it. He was so clever and witty, such a charmer, but he was just as flighty as I and eventually we would grow bored of arguing over prices, we soon moved to other topics.

I had not yet realised the pattern, so one day I came home skipping and smiling.

The next time she sent me, Hermes was not there.

Nor the time after that.

Nor the time after that.

She would still send me for flowers. But after Hermes, she began to send company with me, three water nymphs. I suppose she was trying to appease me either that or spy on me. They were nice enough, but I did not know them, I did not like them, I did not trust them.

They were with me when I first saw it.

It was beautiful.

And this may sound like the ramblings of an old woman, but I knew.

I knew somehow that this flower was mine.

I called the nymphs over, I didn’t know any better.

“Look,” I said, “look here, at this flower”

“Oh Kore, you don’t want that.” They smirked at each other. “Don’t you know? That’s a lonely flower”

They giggled and tittered at me.

I didn't care. It made sense to me.

A lonely flower for a lonely girl.

So I plucked it, entwined it into my hair and continued in my task.

The next time we went out, there were three. I picked them all, entwined them in my hair, next to the first.

The time after that there was a whole meadow of Narcissus flowers.

The girls stopped giggling.

I smiled. Picked one. Entwined it in my hair.

I would have put them all in if I could fit them. But no sooner had my fingers brushed the second when a great rumbling began.

I had thought the flower was beautiful, but then I saw him, and no word of a lie I forgot how to breathe.

He held out one pale hand, eyes dark.

What could I do but take it?

People will tell you that I screamed. That I cried. Ignore them. They don't have a clue what they're talking about.

They say he seized me like a prisoner

In truth, he seized me like an opportunity.


	2. Chapter 2

Her name was Kore and she brought the spring.

At first, I didn't have more than a passing awareness of her. She was just another child of Zeus's, and believe me, there wasn’t exactly a short supply of those.

She wasn't even regularly around Olympus. I assumed that she- just like me- didn't particularly care for the drama of other gods.

Turns out her mum was nuts. Although I didn't find _that_ out until later.

_Much_ later.

She was young when I met her, not as young as everybody says, but young. And she stormed into my life with all of the passion of her youth, providing me with an essential part of myself I never knew was missing.

I was lonely, you see. I didn't have a clue that I was, but I was.

Look, my family has never been what you would consider stable. My father killed his father, married his sister and became king. He ruled well for a time until he realised that just as he killed his father for the throne, we might kill him. So he swallowed us in his paranoia. No literally, I spent the formative years of my life in his digestive tract. Not pretty.

That is until mum got her head in gear and plotted with Zeus and Gaia to free us. She probably didn't anticipate Zeus starting a war and using our life debts to him to make us into his little toy soldiers. But you live and learn.

So yeah, what I'm saying is, not the most stable family background. And the result was a bunch of messed up kids, I like to think that I’m the most stable of them, but emotions are tricky on a good day.

So I was lonely but didn't realise it.

I had Spot of course and all of my loyal court. But what I really needed was someone to share with, someone with intelligence, someone with a backbone.

People say that I kidnapped her, lured her in and trapped her. People say that I did this with Zeus's permission. They're lying, I've never needed that idiot’s permission to do anything.

Really, I just wanted to try my hand at something other than death. The Narcissus flower is a little bit of a masterpiece if I do say so myself. (And I do.) I think I probably put a little bit too much of myself into it though, because when she picked it - I felt it.

I went to see who had _dared_ to claim _my_ creation, and I was struck dumb when I saw her. The nymphs that were with her all looked uneasy, but she didn’t. She was kneeling in the dirt tucking my work of art into her hair with this tiny little _smile_ on her lips. I don't think I've ever _been_ so curious as I was in that moment.

So I did what came naturally. I fled.

I kicked myself so hard when I got home that I still have a bruised shin.

Then I came up with a genius idea. I made three more flowers, just - you know, to test the waters a little.

And then I waited, and believe me I know what a stalker I sound like but I wasn’t being creepy, I promise. I had it all planned out, you see. This time I was gonna talk to her, spout out a good chat-up line and hope for the best. I even had a few days to think about what line I would use. I was quite proud of _“Are you Prometheus in disguise? Cos baby you light my fire.”_

But in the end, I decided to go with _“Hey girl, are you a child of Zeus? Cause you leave me thunderstruck.”_ I figured it was more relatable.

Yeah, I know, they're so bad it's painful, but I wanted to keep things light, not scare her off.

I figured maybe she had thought the first flower was pretty but wouldn’t care too much about the others. But when she showed up again a few days later not only did she pick the new ones, she still wore the first!

It suited her.

I like to tell myself that I'd been waiting for her to finish her work, that I didn't want to distract her.

Yeah, I suck at lying. Even to myself. Truthfully I was terrified of being rejected, and I know how silly it sounds; the big scary Lord of the Underworld scared of being rejected by this tiny woman. You have to bear in mind that she was the first girl I’d ever flirted with. She would have been the last too, if not for the fact that- well, I didn't _actually_ flirt with her. Nah, I turned tail and ran again.

I actually think I still have a few hairs missing from where I pulled them out from frustration.

I came back again the next day - of course I did! She wasn't there. So I figured she wasn't coming back. I was so angry with myself, why was I such a coward? Why couldn't I pluck up the courage to go over there and say hello?

So then I decided that I probably wasn't cut out for this, planted another Meadow of Narcissus flowers, and went home.

I didn't plan to come back.

In fact, I had almost forgotten about her. Almost. Until a few days later she picked another flower.

Then it gets kind of blurry. The next thing I remember, I was standing in my stupid chariot, holding out my hand like some lovestruck fool. Actually, you know what, that description sounds about right.

I made her promise not to tell anyone this next part so she probably won’t have told you, but that's when I opened my mouth. To this day I still have no idea what I was going to say, probably something stupid. But that doesn't matter because as soon as she put her hand in my palm, I swallowed my tongue.

I almost choked to death. And trust me - as the Lord of the Underworld - I can appreciate the irony.

People say that she screamed, that she cried. They probably think they're telling the truth too. But I kid you not she was laughing, the only tears on her face were ones of mirth.

By the Fates I love her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I didn't come up with the pickup lines. Kudos to whoever did.  
> Fun fact, Hades' hound is called Cerberus which comes from the root word Κέρβερος|Kerberos meaning spotted. Essentially, Hades named his dog Spot. The Lord of the Underworld, Ladies and Gentlemen.


End file.
